Queer Olympix 2019 Banned by Kadıköy District Governorship

 

Queer Olympix 2019 was cancelled after the Kadıköy District Governorship banned the event. The organizers were given notice by the police, which arrived to Kalamış beach with a water cannon, according to KaosGL. The police told the organizers that they “should have notified the authorities” prior to the event. KaosGL asked Lawyer Hayriye Kara her opinions, who said : “There is no law article that requires such notification for sports events. Delivering such a notice on a Saturday morning deprives the organizers of the right to appeal against the ban, as the courts are closed on the weekend.”

Queer Olympix has published this message on social media shortly after the ban:

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Later in the day, Queer Olympix participants published a video. The full text of the video in English is as following:

We learned that if we do ‘long jump’, it threatens public health, public order, and public morality. If we jump too long and too far, if we insist on being in the areas where we are not welcomed, we can overcome heterosexism, god forbid!

The event Queer Olympix that we planned to organize for the third time has been banned by Kadıköy district governorate. We were informed about that when we arrived at the event area this morning (24 August Saturday). The preparation crew of 20 people in Kalamış was informed of the ban by riot control vehicles and riot police, the participants were followed until their homes, the decision was issued in the last minute while it would be done anytime throughout the year. All of these demonstrates one thing: These bans aim to function to oppress us not only physically but also psychologically, to ignore our voluntary effort, and to reject our existence. As Queer Olympix team and participants, we are aware of these aims and we want to inform everyone that we will continue defending our existence and visibility in the sports spaces against all these preventions. 

During the last two years, in Heybeliada and Kalamış, we organized this event with no problem together with many LGBTI+ and women participants from different cities and countries. The fact that such an event was banned in the last minute for the purposes of “protection of public health, public order, and public morality and prevention of crime” is a blatant example of intolerance towards us ‘even only when’ we want to do sports in public spaces. 

As women and LGBTI+ people, we care about being together while our living spaces were being limited, our fundamental rights -especially our right to live- are being violated. We are sad and angry about the fact that our event, which we made a great effort to realize throughout the year, was banned by a district governorate decision. Even though they banned our event, we know that the existence of LGBTI+ people and women in sports spaces anywhere in Turkey cannot be banned. Despite the arbitrary bans under cover of security, we are in the streets, in the schools, in the fields, and in the workspaces against binary system and heterosexism.

We said that “we will run if we cannot walk” to emphasize the importance of Queer Olympix after the prevention of Istanbul Pride March in 2015. Now it is obvious that what is prevented is not that we run or do race walking, we play football or volleyball, we do relay race or long jump, but that we insist on existing in public space as who we are. 

We cannot understand how sports can be banned on the grounds of public health; our understanding of public health includes securing our rights to live, providing equal opportunities to everyone to maintain their lives in a healthy way, and prevention of discriminating health practices which risk the lives of LGBTI+ people.

Instead of using the state resources to prevent the football games of LGBTI+ people, we invite the state to use their resources to prevent women killings and hate crimes. LGBTI+ people will continue existing in the fields as they exist in the fields.


Queer Olympix Organization Team and Participants:
-Atletik Dildoa
-Lolitop
-Muamma
-Olympikhalkedon
-Q-Bitches
-Queerpool
-Queer League Armenia
-Sportif Lezbon
-Queer Olympix Karması”

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